Just a Useful Pawn in the Stain Sect

Chapter 205: Chapter 205: This Local Gang Has No Manners

”I have a Daoist Skill in my possession, as all of you know.”

Duo Bao Child stood on the stage, chest puffed out, and announced, ”Its name is the [Ten Thousand Treasures River]. It can combine multiple Artifacts to form an even stronger one.”

”Three Middle Grade Sentient Artifacts can be combined into one Superior Sentient Artifact. Nine Lower Grade Sentient Artifacts can become one Middle Grade Sentient Artifact, and eighteen Superior Magical Treasures can become one Lower Grade Sentient Artifact. To put it another way, if you have five hundred Superior Magical Treasures, you can Refine a Superior Sentient Artifact!”

”And the more Artifacts you have, the more powerful the [Ten Thousand Treasures River] becomes!”

As his voice fell, an uproar went through the crowd.

”Old fiend Duobao... are you really putting Treasure Division Cliff’s ultimate Daoist Skill on the table? Tell me the truth, are you planning to grab a fortune and run?”

”Is this Daoist Skill of yours the real deal?”

”This isn’t some kind of trick, is it?”

Several Foundation-Stage Cultivators voiced their doubts directly, but Duo Bao Child wasn’t flustered at all. He chuckled lightly. ”Since I’m willing to trade, I naturally have my reasons.”

”To be honest, I am seeking a strand of Earth Evil Qi...”

The moment he said this, the voices of doubt instantly vanished.

Although the [Ten Thousand Treasures River] Daoist Skill was indeed precious, it was nothing compared to the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, nothing compared to the future cultivation path of a Foundation-Stage Cultivator.

”But we don’t have any Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches to trade you.”

”The Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches cannot be encountered without great Fortune, nor obtained without sufficient Cultivation. How could they possibly be traded? Duobao, have you lost your mind?”

Duo Bao Child shook his head. ”As I said, I’m looking for a strand of Earth Evil Qi... I’ve already discovered where to find it. However, it’s in a perilous place, fraught with danger. Therefore, I need a Superior Sentient Artifact that can attract good fortune and avert disaster, as well as a Slaughter Spiritual Treasure.”

”You want to trade for two Superior Sentient Artifacts?” someone asked doubtfully.

Duo Bao Child waved his hand. ”Not necessarily. If a single Superior Sentient Artifact possesses both of the Divine Effects I require, that would also be acceptable for the trade.”

”Preposterous!”

For a moment, the numerous Foundation-Stage Cultivators released their Divine Senses. If not for the Array in the Cave Mansion suppressing Spiritual Qi, the ripples would have likely spread to the outside world.

Seeing this, Duo Bao Child remained perfectly calm and composed:

”The [Ten Thousand Treasures River] is my trump card. Its value is well-known. In the past, when a Saint Sect Zhenren tried to rob me, I protected it with my life.”

”Now that I’m selling it, I naturally have to get a good price.”

”Of course, if someone can offer the Superior Sentient Artifact I’m looking for, I can sweeten the deal.” As he spoke, Duo Bao Child waved his hand.

WHOOSH—!

In the next second, a plume of yellow smoke appeared before the crowd. Once they saw what it was, almost every Foundation-Stage Cultivator took a step back.

”Earth Vein Qi! Old fiend Duobao, where did you get that?”

”Don’t bring that thing near me! What if I accidentally shatter it?”

”Get it away, get it away...”

To a Foundation-Stage Cultivator, Earth Vein Qi was like a pile of shit—something you absolutely couldn’t touch. After all, no one wanted their Qi to be reduced by heavenly punishment.

Lü Yang, however, narrowed his eyes at the sight.

’Earth Vein Qi... seems I have a fateful connection with it.’

Lü Yang had previously created a strand using the [Celestial Corpse Fiend], but unfortunately, he had used it to trap and kill Blood Demon Zhenren, and it had dissipated along with the [Celestial Corpse Fiend].

Now, the more Lü Yang looked, the more he felt that the Earth Vein Qi in Duo Bao Child’s hand resembled the strand he had used up.

Moreover, he had just cultivated the [Imperial Mountain Shifting Technique]. If this Daoist Skill were combined with Earth Vein Qi, its power would surely increase significantly.

”How about it?” Duo Bao Child looked around and announced loudly, ”This Earth Vein Qi is an excellent tool for scheming against others. In a pinch, it can also be used to protect yourself and save your life. Back when I was being robbed by that Saint Sect Zhenren, if this strand of Earth Vein Qi hadn’t made him hesitate to act, I’d be dead.”

As soon as he said this, some of the Foundation-Stage Cultivators immediately had a realization.

He had a point!

Earth Vein Qi was certainly a pile of shit, but if you could smear yourself with shit, most people wouldn’t dare get close to you. It really was a great tool for self-preservation!

Especially with a great battle imminent, having Earth Vein Qi for protection would increase one’s chances of survival.

With this in mind, some of them were tempted. But temptation was one thing, and action another. They wanted to make the trade, but none of them had a suitable Superior Sentient Artifact.

Duo Bao Child’s attitude, in particular, was extremely firm.

Meanwhile, Lü Yang watched him with great interest. Although it seemed like an ordinary transaction on the surface, it was very strange upon closer inspection.

’Strictly speaking, this person is planning to trade his trump card and a life-saving item for someone else’s Slaughter Spiritual Treasure and a Spiritual Treasure that can sense danger. Doing this is practically inviting someone to attack him after the trade. A Saint Sect Zhenren, at the very least, would definitely make a move...’

’Is he fishing?’

But he should be the only true-blue Saint Sect Zhenren present. If this really was a deliberate attempt to fish, who was Duo Bao Child trying to bait?

The more Lü Yang thought about it, the more intriguing he found it.

After a moment of thought, Lü Yang suddenly sent a Divine Sense transmission to Duo Bao Child. ”I have the Superior Sentient Artifact you want, Daoist. But what you’re offering isn’t enough!”

”Oh? Is that so?”

Duo Bao Child’s eyes suddenly lit up, but his expression remained unchanged as he transmitted back, ”You’re being too greedy, Daoist. This is already my bottom line!”

”I also want a ready-made [Ten Thousand Treasures River]!”

Lü Yang had no intention of being polite with Duo Bao Child and immediately made an outrageous demand. ’Bottom line? As if the opening offer would ever be the bottom line.’

And his reasoning was perfectly sound.

”Even if the [Ten Thousand Treasures River] can combine Artifacts into a Superior Sentient Artifact, a great war is upon us. Where am I supposed to gather over five hundred Artifacts for you?”

”This... Fine.”

Duo Bao Child paused for a moment, then haggled with Lü Yang for a while longer. They finally agreed that he would add over one hundred Superior Magical Treasures to the deal.

”One hundred and sixty-two Superior Magical Treasures. That’s enough to combine into a [Ten Thousand Treasures River] at the Middle Grade Spirit Treasure Level.” Daoist Duobao said with a pained expression, ”This is all the stock I have. Without them, my own [Ten Thousand Treasures River] will have trouble maintaining the level of a Superior Sentient Artifact...”

’Still fishing! He’s still fishing!’

Lü Yang was shooting the arrow then drawing the target, but the more he listened, the more he felt something was seriously wrong with Duo Bao Child. ’How dare he try to fish for *me*? The local gangs are so impolite!’

Thinking of this, Lü Yang directly took out the [Abi Sword].

”This Spiritual Treasure has two Divine Effects: one is [Man Slaughterer], and the other is [Li Wei]. It perfectly meets your requirements, Daoist. You can try Refining it.”

”It’s actually a Spirit Sword?”

Duo Bao Child’s face lit up with joy. He hurriedly took the Abi Sword and examined it closely before nodding in satisfaction. ”Excellent. This is truly excellent!”

”A deal?” Lü Yang asked with a kindly smile.

Duo Bao Child nodded. ”A deal!”

Both parties were satisfied with the outcome.

Following that, a few more Foundation-Stage Cultivators went up to trade, but the results were unremarkable. After about half an hour, every Foundation-Stage Cultivator had had their turn.

Only then did the Dragon-Fishing Elder, who was hosting the exchange, come out again to announce its end.

Then, just as they had arrived, the Foundation-Stage Cultivators left one by one. Before long, only the Dragon-Fishing Elder and Duo Bao Child remained in the vast Cave Mansion.

Seeing this, the Dragon-Fishing Elder asked gravely, ”Are you sure?”

”I’m sure!”

Duo Bao Child said in a low voice, still examining the [Abi Sword], ”To casually offer up a Spirit Sword like this... who else could it be but a Saint Sect Zhenren?”

”He didn’t offer it casually,” the Dragon-Fishing Elder said, shaking his head. ”Given the way those Saint Sect Zhenren operate, how could they possibly trade away a Superior Sentient Artifact like this? He’s probably already gone back to call for backup. He’ll be circling back soon for a surprise attack to snatch everything back...”

”Hmph! He has backup, but don’t we?”

Duo Bao Child gave a cold smile. ”Huanxiang thinks she’s well-hidden, but she doesn’t realize that the foxy stench on her can’t fool my Scent Detection Dog.”

”She’s based at Gai Bamboo Mountain and has never shown much interest in these trades before. Yet today, she brought a stranger with her. I knew right then that something was up.”

”A Saint Sect Zhenren...”

The Dragon-Fishing Elder sighed. ”We originally just wanted to use this trade as a pretense to lure a few Jiangbei Cultivators and use them as a pledge of allegiance. I never expected to hook such a big fish.”

”A big fish is the only one with real value!”

Duo Bao Child’s expression turned fierce. He said in a low voice, ”Send word for the Dao Court’s people to come as backup. I’m going after him now. We absolutely cannot let this person get away.”

The Dragon-Fishing Elder hesitated. ”Shouldn’t we wait a bit longer?”

At these words, Duo Bao Child’s old and new grudges against the Saint Sect surged in his heart. He flicked his sleeves and rose to his feet. ”The longer we wait, the more can go wrong! I’m going ahead!”